调度

• Pinyin: diào dù
• Hanzi breakdown: 调 = 讠+ 周 (to transfer, adjust, mobilise); 度 = 广 + 又 (to measure, regulate, manage)

Meaning

To dispatch; to coordinate and dynamically allocate resources, personnel, or vehicles. As a noun, the dispatcher or the act of coordination.

Central to transport, logistics, military, and production contexts. 调度员 (dispatcher) is a specific professional role. 调度 implies real-time management and dynamic reallocation to meet demands. Common in formal and technical writing about operations and emergency response.

Examples

1. 春运期间，铁路调度中心需要对数千列列车的运行时刻和轨道安排进行精密的实时调度与协调。 During the Spring Festival travel rush, the railway dispatch center must precisely coordinate real-time schedules and track assignments for thousands of trains.
2. 项目经理负责对各部门的人力资源进行合理调度，确保每个关键节点都有足够的人手支撑。 The project manager is responsible for allocating staffing across departments to ensure every key milestone has enough support.
3. 消防指挥员迅速调度三支消防中队赶赴现场，同时协调医疗救护和交通管制力量展开联合处置。 The fire commander quickly dispatched three fire brigades to the scene while coordinating medical response and traffic control for a joint operation.

Usage Guide

Context: logistics, transport, management, military

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 城市交通调度系统通过实时数据分析，动态调整信号灯配时，有效缓解了早晚高峰期间的拥堵状况。(The urban traffic dispatch system dynamically adjusts signal timing through real-time data analysis, effectively relieving congestion during morning and evening rush hours.)
• 他担任后勤调度主管多年，积累了丰富的资源调配和应急响应经验。(Having served as head of logistics dispatch for many years, he has accumulated extensive experience in resource allocation and emergency response.)

Don't Say

• 调度这首歌 — 调度 implies coordinating resources or personnel; for music arrangement, use 编曲; for adjusting a playlist, use 调整顺序

Origin & History

调 (to adjust, transfer, mobilise) + 度 (to manage, measure, regulate)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal